Windows IT Pro Storage UPDATE--The Tricky SMB Backup Market

Don't let overzealous antispam software block your copy of Storage UPDATE--add [email protected] to your list of allowed senders and contacts.

This email newsletter comes to you free and is supported by the following advertisers, which offer products and services in which you might be interested. Please take a moment to visit these advertisers' Web sites and show your support for Storage UPDATE.

An Evaluation of the Total Cost of Ownership of Email Security Solutions
http://www.windowsitpro.com/whitepapers/postini/emailsecuritycost/index.cfm?=stornl

Security Administrator
http://www.secadministrator.com/rd.cfm?code=fseu2552sp

1. Commentary
- The Promising, Problematic SMB Backup Market

2. From the Community
- Windows 2000 Server Restore Problem
- Join a Windows IT Pro Chat About Group Policy Troubleshooting

3. New and Improved
- DSG Storage Presents Line of iSCSI Appliances
- Tell Us About a Hot Product and Get a T-Shirt!

==== Sponsor: An Evaluation of the Total Cost of Ownership of Email Security Solutions ====

Quantifying the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of email security solutions is a notoriously difficult task. Discover how Total Cost of Ownership is much more than the initial acquisition cost of a solution, and how you can save thousands of dollars each year without sacrificing accuracy, control or effectiveness in protecting your email systems. Download this free whitepaper now!
http://www.windowsitpro.com/whitepapers/postini/emailsecuritycost/index.cfm?=stornl

==== 1. Commentary: The Promising, Problematic SMB Backup Market ====
by Elliot King, [email protected]

Some recent announcements from major storage vendors highlight the increasingly heated competition in the market for backup software targeted at small-to-midsized businesses (SMBs). First, in January, VERITAS launched two new backup packages, Backup Exec 10.0 for Windows Servers and VERITAS Backup Exec Suite. The packages, which contain more than 100 new features, are the most significant releases in the company's history, say VERITAS officials. The new versions feature centralized backup storage management and continuous data protection. VERITAS followed up on these releases by announcing that Backup Exec QuickStart Edition 10.0 will be bundled with Sony's branded tape drives, including all Sony Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) drive models and the lower-end DDS-4 models, making Sony the first OEM partner for Backup Exec 10.0. Clearly VERITAS, which is in the process of merging with Symantec, is moving aggressively to shore up its leadership positions in the backup and recovery space, particularly in the SMB area. According to market researcher IDC, VERITAS held a 40.4 percent share of the overall backup and archiving market in the third quarter of 2004. Another research firm, The NPD Group, placed VERITAS's share of the SMB backup and recovery market at 53 percent.

Sandwiched between the VERITAS announcements, EMC unveiled the first new features for EMC Dantz Retrospect, the backup and recovery package EMC purchased from Dantz Development for $50 million in October 2004, which extends EMC's product portfolio into the SMB arena. Although EMC Dantz Retrospect's roots are in the Macintosh marketplace, the product provides backup and one-step recovery for file servers, desktop computers, and notebooks that run Windows, Red Hat Linux, or Solaris. EMC's late-January release of EMC Dantz Retrospect 7 for Windows includes new wizards to automate data protection. Although not a major upgrade, the announcement signals EMC's determination to compete in an area that it had long conceded to others.

What's Driving the SMB Storage Space?

Three major factors are driving the increasingly heated competition among storage and backup and recovery vendors in the SMB space. First, the market itself is huge and is continually growing as an area of opportunity for vendors. Second, backup and recovery continues to be problematic for SMBs. And third, the problem promises to get worse before it gets better.

Although many large IT vendors have long concentrated on serving the needs of Fortune 3000 companies and large government agencies, IT spending by SMBs in the United States alone is currently more than $300 billion annually by some estimates and could grow to close to $700 billion by 2008. According to IDC, the SMB sector currently accounts for 54 percent of all IT spending, and companies in this arena are increasingly willing to invest in IT. In fact, IBM, which now generates about 20 percent of its worldwide revenue from SMBs, reports that the SMB area is the fastest-growing segment of its business.

Despite the healthy growth outlook, the SMB sector continues to be difficult for storage and backup and recovery vendors to address. First, the name "SMB" is something of a misnomer. The SMB market is typically divided into three distinct parts, differentiated by the number of employees. The most commonly drawn lines are companies with 1000 to 3000 employees, companies with 100 to 1000 employees, and companies with fewer than 100 employees. Of course, the technology needs and resources of a company that has fewer than 100 employees are radically different than those of a company that has close to 3000 employees.

What these differently sized companies do have in common, however, is that the amount of data they must manage is growing by 50 percent or more a year, and a large percentage of that data-- perhaps as much as 60 percent--is stored on desktop and laptop computers. But according to IDC, only about 40 percent of all SMBs back up their data regularly. Often backup operations are too complicated and time-consuming to consistently implement for companies that don't have large, dedicated IT staffs.

Further complicating backup and recovery in the SMB sector is the emergence of personal storage technologies, such as thumb drives and memory sticks. The growing popularity of such technologies means that more and more corporate data will be stored on devices that aren't usually connected to corporate networks. The first step that SMBs must take to address this challenge is probably not a technical one but a conceptual one. Companies must establish policies to ensure that key data is safeguarded. Those policies can then drive the technological solutions.

The SMB market segment is a potential gold mine for vendors that offer backup and recovery products that are easy to install and administer. To address the SMB challenges, storage vendors are taking different approaches, such as OEM partnerships (VERITAS's strategy), technology or company acquisitions (EMC's strategy), or by developing products specifically geared to meeting the data- storage and retrieval needs of smaller organizations.

==== Sponsor: Security Administrator ====

Try a Sample Issue of Security Administrator!

Security Administrator is the monthly newsletter from Windows IT Pro that shows you how to protect your network from external intruders and control access for internal users. As an added bonus, paid subscribers get access to over 1900 searchable articles on the Web. Sign up now to get a 1-month trial issue--you'll feel more secure just knowing you did. Click here!
http://www.secadministrator.com/rd.cfm?code=fseu2552sp

==== 2. From the Community ====

Windows 2000 Server Restore Problem

Forum participant "ejjones" is doing a test restore on a Windows 2000 server and is having trouble restoring System State data using NTBackup. If you can help, join the discussion at
http://www.windowsitpro.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=46&threadid=129851

Join a Windows IT Pro Chat About Group Policy Troubleshooting

On February 25, 2005, 12:00 pm EST, chat with Darren Mar-Elia and get answers to your Group Policy troubleshooting questions. You can log into the chat 15 minutes before it starts. To access the chat on February 25, go to
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/45101/45101.html

==== 3. New and Improved ====
by Anne Grubb, [email protected]

DSG Storage Presents Line of iSCSI Appliances

DSG Storage has introduced a complete line of iSCSI appliances that offer value and full "wire-speed" iSCSI throughput, according to the vendor. The models include the iSA-100, which supports four hot-swap Serial ATA (SATA) drives and retails for $4900; the iSA- 200, which supports 12 hot-swap SATA drives and retails for $7500; the iSA-300, which supports 16 hot-swap SATA drives and retails for $9500; and the iSA-500, which supports 24 hot-swap SATA drives and retails for $12,000. The appliances support RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10. The models provide two copper gigabit ports and 1GB to 2GB on-board caches. For more information about the products, contact DSG Storage on the Web.
http://www.dsgstorage.com

Tell Us About a Hot Product and Get a T-Shirt!

Have you used a product that changed your IT experience by saving you time or easing your daily burden? Tell us about the product, and we'll send you a T-shirt if we write about the product in a future Windows IT Pro What's Hot column. Send your product suggestions with information about how the product has helped you to [email protected].

==== Resources and Events ====
(brought to you by Windows IT Pro)

Get Ready for SQL Server 2005 Roadshow in a City Near You

Get the Facts about Migrating to SQL Server 2005. SQL Server experts will present real-world information about administration, development, and business intelligence to help you implement a best- practices migration to SQL Server 2005 and improve your database- computing environment. Receive a 1-year membership to PASS and 1- year subscription to SQL Server Magazine. Register now!
http://www.windowsitpro.com/roadshows/sqlserverusa/index.cfm?code=0216emailannc

Keeping Critical Applications Running in a Distributed Environment

Get up to speed fast with solid tactics you can use to fix problems you're likely to encounter as your network grows in geographic distribution and complexity and learn how to keep your network's critical applications, such as Active Directory and Exchange, running. Don't miss this exclusive opportunity--register now!
http://www.windowsitpro.com/seminars/windowsapplications/index.cfm?code=0216emailannc

Fax Servers: Integrate. Automate. Communicate

Attend this free Web seminar and receive a complimentary 30-day software evaluation, industry whitepaper, and a Starbuck's gift card! Join industry expert David Chernicoff and learn how leading organizations are incorporating fax technologies to empower users and enhance existing investments in infrastructure and applications while providing substantial ROI. Register now!
http://www.windowsitpro.com/seminars/faxservers/index.cfm?code=0216emailannc

Sensible Best Practices for Exchange Availability Web Seminar

If you're discouraged about not having piles of money for improving the availability of your Exchange server, join Exchange MVP Paul Robichaux for this free Web seminar and learn how to maximize your existing configuration. Survive unexpected outages, plan for the unplannable, and evaluate what your real business requirements are without great expense. Register now!
http://www.windowsitpro.com/seminars/exchangeavailability/index.cfm?code=0216emailannc

Discover All You Need to Know About 64-bit Computing in the Enterprise

In this free Web seminar, industry guru Michael Otey explores the need for 64-bit computing and looks at the type of applications that can make the best use of it. He'll explain why the most important factor in the 64-bit platform is increased memory. Discover the best platform for high performance and learn how you can successfully differentiate, migrate, and manage between 32-bit and 64-bit technology. Register now!
http://www.windowsitpro.com/seminars/integrityservers/index.cfm?code=0216emailannc

==== Announcements ====
(from Windows IT Pro and its partners)

Try a Sample Issue of Exchange & Outlook Administrator!

If you haven't seen Exchange & Outlook Administrator, you're missing out on key information to help you migrate, optimize, administer, back up, recover, and secure Exchange and Outlook. Plus, paid subscribers receive exclusive online library access to every article we've ever published. Order now!
http://www.exchangeadmin.com/rd.cfm?code=fsep2352up

==== Sponsored Links (advertisement) ====

Argent versus MOM 2005
Experts Pick the Best Windows Monitoring Solution
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;13273616;8214395;i?http://www.argent.com/w/whitepapers_mom.html?Source=WNT%20Sponsored%20Link

Quest Software
See Active Directory in a whole new light. And get a free flashlight!
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;13695556;8214395;t?http://wm.quest.com/WITPUpdatelinkSpotADflash205

==== Contact Us ====

About the commentary -- [email protected]
About the newsletter -- [email protected]
About technical questions -- http://www.windowsitpro.com/forums
About product news -- [email protected]
About your subscription -- [email protected]
About sponsoring UPDATE -- [email protected]